Sunday, July 31, 2011

Peace blogging 2011 was inspiring in so many ways. November 4, 2011
Bloggers from all across the globe
will blog for peace.
We will speak with one voice.
One subject.
One day.

Welcome to the 8th launch of BlogBlast For Peace aka Dona Nobis Pacem in the blogosphere.What is it? A small group of bloggers answered a challenge I tossed one angst-filled October day in 2006. I wanted to know what would happen if all bloggers everywhere signed their name across a globe and all posted the SAME POST on the SAME DAY. I created a graphic and made the first one. I asked them to write "Dona nobis pacem" which is Latin for "grant us peace" across the globe image and post it on their blogs in November. Fifty-two people responded enthusiastically and soon it began to spread like a beautiful lyric across the internet.

It was the Internet's first ever online movement of its kind to invite bloggers to post the same message on the same day. From blog to blog it has moved and continues to grow. It is a virtual inscription of hope. We have been amazed to see the power and passion shown each year displayed on pages across the world. We visit each other with our prayers and scribbles, prose and poetry, art and angst, heart and hilarity - and are moved by it every single time. There is something magical about the peace globes. Something I can't explain. But everyone who participates will tell you that very thing.

What we have built since 2006 is a core of distinct and remarkable individuals called "peace bloggers." They write. They draw. They paint beautiful words and images. They help and encourage each other. They may differ in philosophy and politic, but they find a way to peaceably debate. And then they sign their names to a promise. To a hope. To a dream we all have. To one day live in a world of peace.
Not all of them blog. Many blog peace on Facebook and Twitter. All have earned a special place in my heart.

They continue to amaze me with their inspiration and dedication to the peace globes, which now fly in 60+ countries and countless provinces and cities across the world. They are housed in an online gallery here and shown daily throughout the year on thousands of blogs. Every November 4th - which is my grandfather's birthday - we fly them in unity. We launch a new BlogBlast For Peace. We hear new stories. We welcome newbie peace bloggers. We learn about the world around us, how alike we all are, how human. It is a beautiful thing to behold.

This man, my Papa, is the reason I hold tight to the peace globes. Read his story below. I wonder if he knows what an inspiration he's become to so many... long after he left this world. I wonder if he knew that earth wrapped marble would become a symbol of peace and hope. He was that to me. And now he is that to you.

I used to say we were an invisible online world. I no longer believe that. I've watched how the peace movement has deepened in meaning. I've encountered tangible proof that the best things in life are intangible. Your words. On thousands of pages you've written your dreams and hopes. Each time someone blogs for peace, they send out a ripple of hope, of truth, of tolerance, that attaches itself to the next ripple and the next. Our pond is a little bigger now. But the premise remains simple. We simply blog peace. The world has to hear. Dona nobis pacem...grant us peace. If enough of us say it, if enough of us believe it, if enough of us live it.....that has to be a positive force in the world. I believe in its power. Why?

Because I believe in the inherent goodness of people, deep down, to do the right thing. If I didn't, there would be no reason to hope for change. In our individual trials and collectively as humankind, there has to be a spark of goodness in every soul. We were made for greatness.

We won't get there without the goodness.

Peace bloggers are good folk.

This year we decided to nail our purpose to the page. I challenged them (and now you) to come up with one reason each day for the next 100 days leading up to November 4, 2011. It's called "100 Days 100 Reasons To Blog4Peace". The posts have already inspired me and so many others. Many people are posting their reasons in their FB status. Please jump right in and join us.

I don't know what force led me to find a blue globe graphic and throw out a peace challenge. I don't know what manner of spirit or luck or destiny led me to my grandfather's marbles that night.

But there's a certain inexplicable electricity that accompanies faith fueled with the audacity to believe in something bigger than yourself. This movement has a power all its own.

2.Sign and design your peace globe anyway you wish. You can even include the name of your blog or business. Click here for thousands of inspiring examples from previous BlogBlasts. Be creative! Your peace globe is one-of-a-kind.

3. Send your peace globe to me via email ~ blogblastforpeace at yahoo.com or simply post it on your Facebook wall and tag me. All peace posts are collected and housed together in a gallery of peace. Your submission will be numbered and dated in the official gallery with a link back to your original peace post, earning a permanent spot on the Official BlogBlast For Peace website.
Your contribution can now be viewed in collaboration with peace bloggers from 53 countries+ and thousands of locations across the globe - all in one place.

4. Post!On November 4, 2011 DISPLAY YOUR GLOBE on your
BLOG, FACEBOOK WALL, Twitter page and any other social networking sites. If you are posting on Facebook only, don't forget to TAG ME.Title your post "Dona Nobis Pacem" - Latin for Grant Us Peace. This is important. The goal is for all blogs to say the same thing on the same day. Write about what peace means to you in your part of the world. Express yourself anyway you choose - with music, prose, poetry, artwork, articles, acrostics, quotes, videos, digital graphics or personal stories.
Facebook will turn blue and peace should be buzzing on Google. Tweet it. Share it. Google Buzz it. Digg it. Viral it!

Tips for tweeters: USE HASHTAGS #blogpeace #peace #blogblastforpeace #blog4peace at the end of your tweets to keep us organized and viral
Facebook users: Post your peace globe and submission to your Facebook wall and tag me.
Make your status "Dona nobis pacem". Some people even make their peace globe their profile pic for the day. Visit the groups and pages already set up on Facebook. They are for the express purpose of connecting and networking with other peace bloggers. Fan Page HERE

1. Post any badge you see on this page to your blogs and Facebook pages to promote. Click the 2 graphics below to magically take you to a page with many more to choose from!Or feel free to use it them as your globe on November 4th.

If words are powerful...then this matters.Sign the Mr. Linky below to register to participate which will stay up throughout November. We want to visit each other. Graphics on this page may be used for peace globe promotion or posting.